Professor Greipp Receives AWL Community Involvement Award

pic3Professor Melissa Greipp received the Community Involvement Award from the Milwaukee chapter of the Association for Women Lawyers (AWL) at its annual luncheon on September 10. Professor Greipp received the award for her work with the Summer Youth Institute, which was held at Marquette University Law School this past July. (Professor Greipp blogged about the program here.)

Presenting the award was the Honorable Nancy Joseph. Judge Joseph praised Professor Greipp’s ability to take 23 diverse students between the ages of 13 and 16 and teach them, in five short days, about hierarchies of authority, reading and analyzing cases, professionalism, and becoming a lawyer. In addition, Professor Greipp gave students a legal problem and worked with them to prepare an appellate oral argument on that problem. Then, at the conclusion of the Institute, students participated in oral argument before actual lawyers and judges. Professor Greipp did all this, said Judge Joseph, “with grace, love, and passion for the law.”

Congratulations to Professor Greipp.

Continue ReadingProfessor Greipp Receives AWL Community Involvement Award

Outrunning Burnout

This month’s Wisconsin Lawyer magazine features an article by Paula Davis-Laack on burnout.  When I think of the word “burnout,” the first thought that comes to my mind is “I don’t have time for burnout.”  Maybe other lawyers and law students feel the same way–burnout is not an option.   

The article suggests five tips for preventing burnout:

1.  Increase your self-efficacy.
2.  Have creative outlets.
3.  Take care of yourself.
4.  Get support where you can find it.
5.  Identify your values.

What I like about these tips is that Ms. Davis-Laack comes at the problem of burnout from a constructive, positive angle.  The law profession is time-intensive and demanding, even though it is hugely rewarding.  The same can be said of law school.  Putting these tips into place seems fairly easy–simple habits to avoid big problems. 

By increasing your self-efficacy, the article says, you can help yourself to feel in control, and feeling in control reduces stress.  If you are in law school, start working on your outlines now–not at Thanksgiving. 

Continue ReadingOutrunning Burnout

Not an Ordinary Day

Campus walkTwelve years ago, around 8:45 am, I entered the subway station on Broadway and 86th Street. A busy day lay ahead of me: an orientation meeting of the New York State Bar, followed by callback interviews for a summer job, then maybe class if I could make it back uptown in time. But when I emerged from the subway, the world had changed. As I started walking east on 23rd Street I was startled to find clusters of people standing still on the sidewalk, all facing the same direction, many with their mouths wide open. I turned to see what they were seeing, and gasped when I saw the two World Trade Center towers, a ring of smoke around them.

The aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks has given us lawyers a lot to chew on: two wars of debatable legality, Guantanamo Bay, and the precarious balance between civil rights and national security, to name just a few things. But today is for remembering. My thoughts are with those who died, those who were left behind, and those who so bravely stepped up on that day.

Continue ReadingNot an Ordinary Day